Sam Dunningham
"I want to come with you. I want to see your face again, Luke...but I can't. For our baby. I can't give up on our child...But I know you'll be here with me, always looking after us. I love you..." ''Sam's final respects to Luke 'Short Bio Sam was born and raised in District 12; she was the only child of District 12's mayor, George Flit. Despite the multiple love-sick merchant boys who followed her everywhere she went, she fell in love with a poor hunter from the Seam, Luke Dunningham, when she was fourteen years old. To the shock and horror of the district, she was found pregnant with Luke's child. After Luke was sent into the Games, she was disowned by her father and kicked out into the streets, where she managed to survive for three months. After a nasty run in with her x-lovers, she was saved by Chris and Troy Dunningham, brothers of her "husband" Luke. They took her into their house, and she became part of the family. Shortly after she gave birth to her child, whom she named Max. When she was 18, she was sent into the 29th Hunger Games, AKA Hunger Games 9. She was allied to Kuira Samehada, the one-armed sword-weilder from District 2, whom she formed a close relationship to. Kuira, unfortunately, died a bloody death at the hands of Delph Wadskin, the District 4 boy. After killing Delph, Sam fought against Lavender Williams, the girl from District 7, for the crown. However, Lavender killed Sam in the end. Sam now lives in the Afterlife with Luke and Max, who committed suicide after watching his mother die. '''Life Before the Games Sam was born to the name Samantha Flit. From a young age, she was taught by her strict father to never converse with the "outsiders," those who lived in the Seam or on the outskirts of the District. He believed that they were "unclean" and would tarnish their family name. Sam, however, never got along well with the children of the merchant class; to her, they seemed to stuck-up, too snobbish. She took after her mother, who was a some-what shy, humble, and gentle woman. Sam was often lonely, since she had barely any friends and no sibblings to talk to. As she grew older, she grew aggitated with the merchant boys who flocked around her; they were not in love with her, but simply wanted to win her over for economic reasons. One day, in a fit of utter loneliness, she ran away into the woods, determined to survive on her own. This, obviously, didn't work out well; she had never left the square in her life, much less went into the woods. She would have died from a twisted ankle if a boy hadn't of found her. The boy helped her out of the woods, bringing her to the nearest doctor. He finally introduced himself as Luke Dunningham. Luke would often visit her, and together they talked about their families. To her shock, she found out that Luke was from the Seam; he hunted to support his large family. He had three younger sibling, and had recently lost his older brother, Dan, to the Hunger Games. Despite her father's strict orders, Sam grew to be close friends with Luke. After she returned back home, she would often sneak away into the woods with Luke, the one place where they could be alone. In there, Luke taught Sam how to hunt. At first they were simply good friends; however, this friendship grew into something much more. The two fell in love, and after spending a night in an abandoned cabin, Sam became pregnant with Luke's baby. This, of course, did not go well with Sam's lovers. They wanted both Luke, Sam, and her unborn child dead, and they found an opportunity. That year was the 1st Quarter Quell, where the District voted who the tributes should be. The lovers stuffed the ballets with Luke's and Sam's names. Luke was chosen; Sam, however, was not selected to go into the Hunger Games. Luckily, a large portion of the District voted for Arrianna DeLuca, the daughter of a mob boss, as an act of revenge against the mob. However, Sam was still left in the District heartbroken, unable to do anything but watch as her lover died a bloody, tragic death on national television. She, however, faced an even worse fate; her father. In an act of anger, he disowned her and threw her out of the house. "Father, please, forgive me!" My father said nothing as he pushed me forward, his face stony, no emotion. With another rough push, he sent me staggering towards the door, pushing me further and further to the edge, the point of no return...certain death. "Please, I beg you, I never meant to tarnish our name! It was all...it was all..." "It was all what, Samantha?" The anger and disappointment in his voice struck into my heart like a lance. I couldn't meet his eyes; instead, I glanced down at the ground, at the bulge in my stomach. His voice turned into a hiss, "What was it for? For foolish love? For a moment of enjoyment?" He laughed cruelly. "Well, are you enjoying this?!" When I didn't respond, his voice rose to a crazed yell. "ARE YOU?!?!" "NO!" My voice was strangled, reaching through the knot in my throat. '' ''"No, I never enjoyed anything in my life until he came! I didn't care if he was poor, or who his family was! He cared about me more than all of those filthy, selfish snobs you forced me into meeting ever would! Father, I loved him!" At this he merely laughed, an insane laugh that sent shivers down my spine. '' ''His voice became more even, but seemed even more dangerous, more poisonous, like a snake ready to pounce. "Love? You loved him...well, that's where the real error lays..." He chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "So, you went with a peasant boy. You brought him to the Games, and with that ended his life. You became impregnated, and tarnished our family's name forever. And this was in LOVE...oh, you stupid girl..." I took a step back, fighting back tears. I had to be strong...I must not break. Not now. "I am sorry, father, I truly am! I didn't mean for all this to happen...if I could, I would take it all back-'" "But you can't, now can you?" I shook my head slowly, my gaze drifting back to the ground. "What you did was unforgivable in this society. There are strict laws about this, laws that you ignorantly broke for LOVE. Look where your love has brought you. No boyfriend, expecting, and soon to be homeless. I think we are all aware of the power of LOVE now, aren't we?!" I glanced behind him, looking up at the stairs, where my mother stood, hands cupped over her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes. I whispered pleadingly, "Mother, please, help me!" '' ''My mother bit her lip, glancing between myself and my furious father. "...George...at least consider from her point-" "SILENCE WOMAN!" My mother shut her mouth, tears now freely flowing down her face as he turned to face me, seething. He hissed, "And now, 'Mrs. Dunningham'...I believe your stay in my house is over." "No, please, DON'T DO THIS! The baby, think of the baby, father-" Without hesitation, his hand flew at me, smacking me across the face so hard that I saw stars. I gasped, stumbling backwards, back against the door, temporarily blinded in one eye. Before I could do anything, my father flung open the door, and I fell out into the outside, landing on my hands, rain beating down on my back. I glanced up, tears mixing with rain, at my father, standing at the doorstep. He hissed, "You are no daughter of mine." And with that he slammed the door shut. Sam lived on the streets for three months, avoiding both the merchant boys and the Dunninghams; she thought the Dunninghams hated her since Luke basically died because of her. She stole, scavenged, and hunted using the bows Luke had given her before his death. However, she was unable to hide forever; one night, the merchant boys cornered her, and the lead boy, Chase Spiterwech, attempted to stab her in the stomach. However, Chris and Troy Dunningham managed to scare them off, shooting a few of the boys with their arrows. Chris brought Sam back to their home, where she confronted Mrs. Dunningham for the first time, who seemed delighted to see her. Sam realized that the Dunninghams had never hated her; in fact, they had been looking for her for the past three months. Mrs. Dunningham offered for Sam to stay with them and become one of the family; Sam, of course, accept this, and a few months later gave birth to her son, whom she named Max. 'Chris's Games' Chris was Reaped into the 27th Hunger Games, much to the horror of Sam; the two had become close friends in the three years that Sam had lived with the Dunninghams. In Chris's absence Sam took over as the head of the house, providing for Mrs. Dunningham, Troy (who occasionally hunted with her), Sophie, and her son Max, who was three at the time. Much to her dismay, Chris died from blood loss in the final 2. 'Week before the Games' Sam was reaped into the Hunger Games at the age of 18. After a teary encounter with her family and son, she was dragged away onto the Capitol train. Before she left, she received her District token from Mrs. Dunningham, which was a locket that she had been preparing for Sam. The locket was in the shape of a heart, and when opened it revealed a picture of Luke on one side and Max on the other. Sam remained quiet during training, not drawing too much attention to herself through her actions. Although the crowd was interested by her (due to her relationship with Luke), the other Tributes didn't seem to pay her much heed. She did, however, manage to ally with Kuira Samehada, a one-armed girl from District 2 who was rather impressive with a sword. The two made a good pairing; both tough and determined, and both facing difficulties in life, although Sam never learned exactly what happened to Kuira. During training scores, Sam managed to grab a 9 and Kuira snagged an 11, the highest score in the past ten years. Sam felt somewhat confident heading into the Games, and determined to return home to Max. The 28th Hunger Games The arena, as described in The Hunger Games: 9, was a swampy area, closely resembling a jungle. Sam and Kuira did not waste much time at the Cornucopia; Sam grabbed a sword for Kuira and knives for herself whereas Kuira snagged a pack. They made base at a nearby tree, with Sam hunting and Kuira looking out for any tributes to kill. The Games went by relatively slow at first, with Sam and Kuira each managing to kill one tribute apiece rather easily. The Games picked up pace as a fire devastated the arena, forcing the remaining 12 tributes to flee into a confined area. After the fire came a torential downpour, nearly flooding the whole arena. Sam and Kuira took refuge up in a tree as the other Tributes dropped like flies underneath. Kuira managed to wrest another sword from a dead tribute, but aside from this the two did not see to much action for the time being. Instead, they simply talked to one another about their lives back home. Kuira promised Sam that if Sam were to die and she were to win, that she would take Max in and be sure he was safe. This further complicated things for Sam; she began to feel closer and closer to Kuira, and was unsure if she could kill her if she needed to. Sam, however, tried to push this away; Kuira was the closest thing she had ever had to a friend since Luke, and she couldn't bare the thought of losing her as well. Finally, it came down to the final five; Sam and Kuira against Delph, Fauna, and Lavendar. The two descended from their tree, where they were confronted with a sponsor gift; poison. The two coated their weapons with the toxic stuff, and then set off in search of the other alliance. It did not take too long; after being chased and, in Sam's case, bitten by alligator mutts, the two alliances met each other. Sam would have been killed by Delph within the first minute if Kuira didn't step in the way and save her. Sam scrambled into a tree, determined now to repay Kuira, and made a secondary goal for herself; if she, Sam Dunningham, were to die, she wanted to be sure Kuira would at least win. That being said, she fought off Fauna, who was shooting at Kuira. After Sam took a shot to the leg from Fauna's bow, Sam landed a lethal blow on Fauna, killing her. Delph ran away in rage, seeking out Lavendar, as Sam took Fauna's arrows. Sam and Kuira met up with Delph and Lavendar once more; as Kuira fought Lavendar, Delph chased after Sam, who had, once again, climbed up into another tree. The two exchanged insults as Delph attempted to get Sam out of her tree. However, he was unable to do so, and received an arrow to the elbow before he retreated back to the ground. Sam was pleased, although her pleasure would not last long; as Delph hit the ground, he double-teamed Kuira. Kuira managed to hold her own for a minute, almost completely cutting off Delph's arm, but she was overwhelmed; Delph jumped behind her and stabbed her in the head. Horrified, Sam rushed down the tree in a vain attempt to save her. My eyes widen in horror as Kuira falls to the ground. "NO!" Without even thinking I scrambled down the tree, only one thought sounding off through my head; save her. She couldn't die, I couldn't lose her, not like everyone else... Luke's body hitting the ground hard, reaching towards the camera and muttering my name with his last breath. Chris falling to his knees and then collapsing, motionless. Max being ripped from my arms. I limped towards her, kneeling down next to her. Ripping off my sweatshirt, I pressed it against her ear, blood soaking in quickly. "Kuira, hang on," I say shakily, looking up slowly. At him. At Delph. The one who taunted me. Who questioned my baby. And who hurt Kuira. Rage washed through my body like a fire. "You..." I seeth, raising my bow. He was stationery, fifty feet away, losing blood at in incredible level...and an insane amount of poison coursing through him. "YOU!" I let the arrow fly, knowing it would hit when I let it go. I return my attention back to Kuira, dropping my bow to the side. "Please, Kuira, hang on," I whimper, pressing it harder against her ear, blood soaking my hand. I stared into her eyes, and I swore I heard her whisper something... And then the cannon fired. I stared at her mangled body in shock, not believing what had just happened. Kuira...Kuira... I stared down at her face, at my blood soaked hands. Soaked with her blood, more of the stuff spilling out from her wound. She was gone, gone like everyone else... I looked up into the sky, closed my eyes...and screamed. An ear-piercing, inhuman scream, bounding through the jungle. I gasped for breath, my hands trembling horribly. "Kuira...Kuira, no..." A twig snapping brought me back to reality. I looked up just in time to see Delph limping away, holding his wound. Him. He will pay...I will kill him... I seeth, picking up Kuira's poisoned sword and putting it in my belt as I watched him limp off. He wouldn't be hard to catch at this rate. I looked down at Kuira, at her mangled body... She had to die in the end...but I had never wanted to accept that fact. But the time's come... "Kuira...thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better ally...a better friend..." I fought back tears, a knot forming in my throat. I pressed the three middle fingers of my hand to my mouth, extending them towards her. "Good luck, Kuira Sameheda..." And with that I looked away, stalking off after Delph. He will pay. He will hurt. He will die. Sam hunted down Delph, who had retreated back to the Cornucopia. Surprisingly, Lavendar betrayed Delph; Sam and Lavender teamed up to finish Delph. Sam ended up landing the finishing shot on Delph, shooting him through the throat and killing him. However, that was her last arrow; she had to resort to using Kuira's sword (and, after she couldn't carry its weight due to blood loss, her knife) to fight Lavender. The two slashed and stabbed at each other for a minute, and finally Lavender delivered the mortal blow to Sam's stomach. Sam collapsed, and after a tear-wrenching message to her son, her life ended. 'After the Games' Lavender was crowned Victor. Max, after watching his mother being thrown into the community graveyard, committed suicide by jumping into his mother's grave and drinking cyanide. Sam, Luke, and Max now live together in the Afterlife, a happy family at last. 'Trivia' *Sam is the only character in the Hunger Games RPGs who has fought for her own child back home. *Sam is the fourth Dunningham to be Reaped into the Hunger Games. *When Michael DeathFlame first introduced Sam during Hunger Games 5, he accidently called her Jenny. *Sam has killed more tributes than any of the Dunninghams; Dan, Luke, and Chris had only killed one a piece, whereas Sam killed three. *Sam's death is the first pre-made death Michael DeathFlame has ever written. *Sam's sole purpose of being Reaped was to die and be reunited with Luke in the Afterlife; Michael DeathFlame's strategy in the Games was actually to get Kuira to win. *Sam was raped by the merchant boys; however, this was and never will be revealed in the RPGs due to rules. Category:Mother Category:Determined Category:Hunger Games 9 Category:Married Category:District 12 Category:HG9 Category:D12 Category:Everdeen